MIDEAST >80 Syrian soldiers killed over weekend: activists

A handout picture released by official the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows the funeral procession of soldiers reportedly killed in ongoing fighting across the country outside the Tishreen military hospital in Damascus on May 22, 2012. AFP photo

Syrian rebels killed at least 80 government soldiers over the weekend in intensified attacks on army checkpoints and clashes with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, a pro-opposition rights group said today.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels had told it that units from the capital Damascus to the opposition stronghold province of Idlib had destroyed tanks and killed more than 100 soldiers. It was able to confirm the names of 80 through local doctors.